Karratha locals unconvinced by city status

Updated
July 05, 2014 10:44:00

The West Australian Pilbara mining town of Karratha is now officially a city. Its mayor says the change will boost the region's status and attract investment, but plenty of locals are sceptical about the benefits or whether Karratha should even qualify as a city.

ASHLEY HALL: It's a mining town a long way from anywhere, and some of its residents complain it doesn't even have a cinema.

But the unofficial capital of West Australia's Pilbara, Karratha, is now officially a city.

But not everyone is happy about the change.

Anna Vidot prepared this report.

KARRATHA RESIDENT: I think it's ridiculous, because we pay through the roof. It's a rural town in the middle of nowhere.

ANNA VIDOT: If you thought all Karratha locals would be celebrating their home town's transformation into a city, you'd be wrong.

KARRATHA RESIDENT 2: No I think it's a joke because most of the facilities that you get in the city are not available in Karratha. Dental treatment, cancer treatment, variety of shopping.

ANNA VIDOT: After surpassing the requisite population milestone of 20,000 people in 2006, the Pilbara Shire of Roebourne, officially became the City of Karratha this week.

Formerly the shire president, and now Mayor, Peter Long.

PETER LONG: There'll always be the naysayers but there's really... they're really the minority; we've done a lot of surveys and most people are very much for it, but they're the silent majority; they don't say too much.

ANNA VIDOT: More than a name, Peter Long says becoming a city will bring real benefits for Karratha and the surrounding towns.

PETER LONG: As a city, you have the opportunity to obtain investment from different parts of both the Federal and state governments, so it gives us the opportunity to get more money.

It is better recognition when we're dealing with international companies and we think it's much better to get more investment for the town and therefore make the town more sustainable.

ANNA VIDOT: It's costing about $300 million for Roebourne shire to become Karratha City. The chief executive of the Pilbara Development Commission, Ken King, says that's money well spent.

KEN KING: Sometimes, you just have to celebrate where you've come from and where you're going to, and the long term vision here takes us beyond 2015 into 2050.

ANNA VIDOT: Karratha's transformation from Pilbara mining town to regional city, was flagged by the WA premier in 2009.

To pay for it, there was the Royalties for Regions fund.

The Pilbara Development Commission's Ken King says that money can already be seen literally on the streets of Karratha.

KEN KING: It's produced a magnificent main street in Sharpe Avenue. For the next 12 months you'll see a GP super clinic going up in top of Sharpe Avenue. You'll see the start of the cultural centre as well.

This really is the start of a magnificent... building of a magnificent city.

ANNA VIDOT: But plenty of locals aren't convinced.

Western Australia's resources bonanza has cooled as it enters a new production phase.

Less construction means less need for labour, and many of the jobs that fuelled Karratha's notoriously high rent and food prices during the boom are drying up.

Many locals don't see a name change, changing that.

KARRATHA RESIDENT 3: With recent economic issues, there's not much of a point calling it a city when its eventually gonna crumble.

KARRATHA RESIDENT 4: Everyone seems to be leaving town not growing. So it's a boost from the Government I think. And um... yeah it's too late.